Shoe machines



P 29, 1959 F. E. COLE i j: 2,906,216

SHOE MACHINES I Filed Oct. 16, 1953 v v 12 Sheets-Sheet 15 Sept. 29, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 16, 1953 12 Sheets-Sheet 3 M JJO F. E. COLE SHOE MACHINES Sept.'29, 1959 Fil ed 00%.. 16, 19 33 ooze Sept. 29, 1959 F. E. COLE 2,906,216

SHOE MACHINES Filed 001;. 16, 1953 12- Sheets-Sheet 4 F.'..E...CO LE SHOE MACHINES Sept. 29, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 16, 1953 I fiv'emr F. E. COLE SHOE MACHINES Sept. 29,

l2 Sheets-Sheet 6 A liz'aerao'? Fermi l7. 6'0 Z6 Filed Oct. 16, 1953 Sept. 29, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Oct. 16,

O M a,

w 0 a m ,m If Q kk uk Ml fl Q Q m O m -1 8 r W l m w w EFHLJ O u M n e u m T fi n a, Tip u F. E. COLE SHOE MACHINES Sept. 29, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed 001;. 16, 1953' j z/ezz for I [27, OOZ'e deg;

Sept. 29,1959 F. E. COLE 2,906,216

SHOE MACHINES F. E. com:

SHOE MACHINES Sept. 29, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 11 Filed Oct. 16, 1953 jzveniar VZW'QMZZUaZQ F. E. COLE SHOE MACHINES Sept. 29', 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 12 Filed Oct. 16, 1953 United States fl m SHOE MACHINES Frank E. Cole, Manchester, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 16, 1953, Serial No. 386,551

12 Claims. (Cl. 112-35) The present invention relates to improvements in machines for operating about the sole margin of a shoe while supported on a last, and more particularly to an automatic machine of which the shoe operating devices include a sewing mechanism for sewing together the upper and sole portions of a lasted shoe, and a trimming mechanism cooperating therewith for trimming the sewn seam.

The invention is shown as embodied ,in an automatic machine of the type in which the shoe is supported on a jack, and in which supporting and actuating mechanism is provided for imparting positioning and feeding movements to the jack to cause the shoe to be presented properly to the operating means, and to transfer the operation about the shoe.

While the several features of the present invention are particularly applicable to automatic shoe machines of the type above referred to, certain features of the invention are also capable of use in other types of automatic machines or in machines in which the shoe is held in position by the operator. It is also to be understood that, except as defined in the claims, the several features of the invention are not limited to any particular construction or arrangement of parts.

The automatic machine for sewing and for trimming the sewn inseam of a shoe, herein disclosed as embodying in a preferred form the several features of the invention, is similar in many respects to theautomatic shoe machine illustrated in the Letters Patent in the United States of Alfred R. Morrill (deceased) Patent No. 2,529,095, dated November 7, 1950, for Shoe Machines. In accordance with the disclosure of said patent, the

control mechanism which is particularly adapted. for

starting and stopping the rotary inseam trimming knifein a predetermined timed relation to the starting and stopping of the stitch forming and shoe feed'mg mecha-' nisms of the machine.

It is another object of the invention to organize the machine controls in such a manner as to permit changes over a wide range in the rate of drive of the sewing and, automatic mechanisms under the control of the operator,

With a consequent increase of flexibility in operation of the machine.

It is another object of the invention to improve the operation of the devices forguiding and positioning the jacked shoe with relation to the mechanisms for operat-' ing about the sole margin of the shoe, particularly dur.-' ing the transfer of the operation along the shank adjacent the breast line of the heel to eliminate so far as possible the necessity of a critical correspondence of the tipping trimming cutter to start and stop the cutter intimed of the rotary inseam trimming cutter to cause the cutter v shoe fitted on .a last, and mounted upon ashoe supprise a rotary tubular cutter which is continuously driven during the operation of trimming the inseam, and a chain stitch inseam shoe sewing mechanism of the general type which comprises a curved hook needle arranged to strike the work from the outside and to emerge in the stitch receiving channel, a looper, a thread finger, and a channel guide which is adapted to ride in the stitch receiving channel and which provides a reference point with relation to which the shoe is positioned for the sewing and trimming operations as these operations are transferred about the sole margin of the shoe.

It is a principal object of the invention, in an automatic machine of the general type described, of which the operating devices include an inseam sewing mechanism and a rotary inseam trimming knife, to improve the driving and control devices of the machine to provide a better and more eflicient cooperation of the shoe operating devices, a greater ease and flexibility of control, and an increased measure of safety for the operator.

Specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide in a machine of the type described a novel driving and ease of operation of the machine.

relation to the starting and stopping of the associated shoe operating and automatic positioning mechanisms of the machine. In the illustratedform of. the invention the rotary inseam trimming cutter is adapted to be1inde pendently drivenby means of a separate electric motor and braking unit, and electrical controls are provided which operate in. such a manner as to cause the rotary cutter to start only after the initial stitches of the seam are sewn and to cause the cutter again to be stopped in stopping the machine after the sewing mechanism has stopped and after a final increment of feeding movement has been imparted .to the shoe to finish trim the finally completed stitches of the seam. v

The mechanism provided for controlling the operation to start only after the sewing mechanism has operated to form the first two stitches of the seam has made possible a substantial improvement in the efiiciency and The jacked shoe is morereadily moved to and maintained in its-operating position during the sewing of the first stitches of the seam when the tubular trimming knife is not rotating. The operator is enabled to use 'his' hands uponrthe work proper to start the seam without risk of injury fromlthe rapidly rotating knife, and when the knife is started the shoe is held firmly against the channel guide by the already formed first stitches of the seam. Further, with the present construction in which the first stitches are placed high in the sewing rib, there is some tendency of the trimming knife to cut thread. The amountof thread cutting is greatly reduced and the ill effects thereof are further minimized by the fact that the upper and welt are already fixed when the first stitches are formed and. drawn in before the trimming knife is put in operation. The stopping of the cutter when the jackedshoe is moved to its inoperative position is of advantage as a safety feature to avoid possible injury to the operator in removing the. shoe from the machine,

Further in accordance with the invention, in order to provided increased flexibility of operation of the machine under the control of the operator a variable speed driving mechanism is interposed between the driving motor. and the main machine clutch which is'readily controlled by the operator and which acts to vary the speed. of the sewing and automatic positioning mechanisms over a very Pat 'ented Sept. 29, 1959 substantial speed range without upsetting the synchronized relation of these mechanisms.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the channel guide is moved to a relatively depressed position with relation to the inseam sewing and trimming mechanisms during the transfer of the operation along the shank portions of the shoe sole so that the sewing mechanism is caused to cooperate in a novel manner with the shoe positioning and feeding mechanisms to cause the parts of the inseam to be drawn together, sewn and thereafter trimmed to secure a tight, well appearing inseam for a substantial range of ditferently shaped lasts which normally would require the jacked shoe to be presented to the sewing mechanism in different angular positions.

With the shoe held in a relatively depressed position so that the needle strikes high through the sewing rib, the needle acts during its work piercing stroke as a lasting device to draw in and to tighten successive portions of the welt and upper against the insole in the manner of a lasting operation so that the parts will be sewn tightly together on the last. With this mode of operation it has been found that the parts of the inseam are drawn together and are tightly and firmly secured irrespective of differences which may appear in the outline and transverse curvature of particular lasts.

The several features of the invention consist also in devices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed which, together with the advantagm to be obtained thereby, will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of an automatic shoe machine adapted for sewing together the parts of the inseam and for trimming the sewn seam of a shoe supported on a jack;

Fig. 2 is a view looking from the left of the machine as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view looking from the right of the machine as shown in Fig. 1;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are similar detail views in right side elevation on an enlarged scale, illustrating particularly the eccentric, reversing and secondary driving clutches for the pattern cam shaft in different positions as determined by the position of the hand control lever shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing particularly the feed lever and associated mechanism for imparting feeding movements to the jack;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the connection between the feed lever and the associated operating link shown in Fig. 7, but with the parts in the extended position taken at the completion of the added increment of feeding movement imparted to the jack after the machine is stopped to finish trim the inseam;

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan view of the machine base illustrating particularly the assembly of supporting levers for the jack, the pattern cam shaft and the cam and follow (er connections for controlling the operation of the l Fig. 10 is a view on an enlarged scale of the machine head shown in Fig. l, but with certain parts removed to show underlying parts;

Fig. 11 is a view looking from the left of substantially the parts shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a detail view in front elevation of the thread tension wheel, the tension brake, and the tension gauge tester shown in Fig. 10, but with the tensiETre moved to its operative position;

Fig. 13 is a view looking from the left, of the parts shown in Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a sectional view taken on line 14-14 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a detail view of the sewing mechanism of the machine looking from the right and partly in section, to illustrate particularly the construction and operation of the mechanism for supplying wax to the thread;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary view looking from the right, illustrating the operation of the needle and associated sewing instrumentalities with the channel guide in its depressed position to compensate for differences in the transverse curvature of the last across the shank of the shoe;

Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken on a line 1717 of Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is an isometric view showing in detail the position of the shoe and sewing rib in operating position with relation to the sewing mechanism prior to the start of the seam, as shown in Fig. 15;

Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 18 but showing the needle through the work during the formation of the first stitch, the positions of the parts corresponding with the positions shown in Figs. 16 and 17;

Fig. 20 is a detail view in left side elevation, partly in section, illustrating particularly the supporting and actuatting connections for the looper, thread finger, and needle, and including the conduit for supplying cold wax to the thread at the tip of the looper;

Fig. 21 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the tip of the looper and the means for waxing the thread mounted therein;

Fig. 22 is a detail sectional view taken on a line 22-22 of Fig. 20; and

Fig. 23 is an electrical diagram showing in diagrammatic form the several driving motors for the machine and the operating switch connections therefor.

The automatic shoe machine illustrated in the drawings as embodying in a preferred from the several features of the invention, comprises generally a column-shaped support or casing which is made up of several sections. including a floor section housing. principally the oil sump and various foot treadle controls of the machine, a middle section 102 housing principally the jack supporting mechanism and pattern mechanism of the machine, a head section 104 housing therein the welt sewing mechanism, the inseam trimming mechanism and the driving and stopping mechanism of the machine, and a top section 106 supporting thereon the driving motor 108 and a variable driving unit therefrom connecting with the driving and stopping mechanism.

The operating devices of the machine include a chainstitch shoe sewing mechanism having a curved hook needle movable in the line of feed, an oscillatory looper 122 and a thread finger 124 which is movable in a direction substantially parallel to the line of feed and away from the trimming knife of the machine, these parts being located entirely at that side of the sewing point away from the completed stitches of the scam to cooperate with a rotary tubular knife which is of relatively large size with its axis parallel to the line of feed and with the cutting edge of the knife passing transversely across the sewn inseam.

The jacked shoe is guided in position with relation to the several operating devices during the transfer of the operation about the sole margin of the shoe by means of a channel guide 138 which is arranged to ride in a stitch receiving channel and support the shoe against the needle, and the cooperating welt guide designated at 140 which yieldingly engages against and is periodically locked against the outer edge of the shoe.

In the illustrated machine, the shoe supported on a last is mounted on the shoe supporting jack which may be of well known construction as that illustrated, for example, in the patent to Cross No. 2,056,714, dated October 6, 1936. The jack indicated generally by the reference character 141 comprises a toe supporting arm 142 rigid with a spindle 144 and a heel supporting arm 146 pivoted at its lower end on the upper end of the spindle 144. The jack is carried on a forwardly extending arm 148 forming part of the automatic supporting and actuating mechanism for the jacked shoe hereinafter again referred to in connection with the description of the automatic shoe support provided with the present machine.

In accordance with the usual construction of automatic shoe machines of the general class described, as illustrated for example in the United States patent to Morrill No. 2,359,662, dated October 3, 1944, for Shoe Machine, the driving and stopping mechanism of the machine includes a main driving motor, a main driving clutch, a branch drive therefrom for driving the sewing mechanism, a second branch drive for driving the automatic shoe support including the pattern cam shaft, and an auxiliary one-revolution eccentric driving mechanism which is rendered operative in stopping the machine to complete the rotation of the pattern cam shaft through one revolution, and to perform certain other auxiliary operations incidental to the stopping of the machine. As in the Morrill patent above referred to, the mechanism for controlling the operation of the main starting and stopping clutch of the machine includes a lock bolt mechanism, not here specifically illustrated, which is shifted into and out of operating position to control the operation of the cam shaft reversing and stopping clutch, and a foot treadle operated mechanism for starting the machine including a foot treadle 80, see Figs. 1 and 3, which is connected to turn a transversely extending rock shaft 81 having mounted thereon a forked lever arm 82. The forked lever arm 82 straddles a vertically extending treadle rod 84 and is seated downwardly against the upper end of a sleeve hub 86 of the main starting and stopping clutch member 192 (see Fig. 3). A second forked lever 88 on shaft 81 engages beneath a compression spring 90 which is coiled about the treadle rod 84 andis seated at its upper end against a fixed nut 92 threaded to the upper end of the treadle rod 84. When the foot treadle 80 is depressed in starting the machine, a downward movement is imparted to the treadle rod 84 which acts through spring 90 to rock the shaft 81, and causes the forked lever arm 82 to move downwardly against the sleeve hub 86 to engage the clutch member 192. A latch bar, not specifically shown, engages a notch in the treadle rod 84 to hold the main clutch in operation during the continuance of the sewing operation about the shoe. The machine is stopped automatically upon completion of the sewing operation about the margin of the shoe sole by means of mechanism forming part of the stop motion of the machine which acts to withdraw said latch bar from engagement with the treadle rod 84, and thereby permits movement of the main clutch member 192 to its disengaged position and the release of the lock bolt,

which, in turn, initiates the operation of the auxiliary one-revolution eccentric driving mechanism above referred to and the certain other auxiliary operations incidental to the stopping of the machine. Inasmuch as the mechanism' for starting and for automatically stopping the machine is fully illustrated and described in a number of previously issued patents, including the Morrill Patent No. 2,359,662 above referred to, and forms specifically no part of the present invention, no further description or particular illustration thereof is believed necessary in connection with the present disclosure. Further in accordance with the usual practice of machines of this general description, the rate of drive of the pattern cam shaft is adjusted to the rate of drive of the sewing mechanism and automatic means are provided for further regulating the rate of drive of the pattern cam shaft in accordance with the size of the shoe being operated upon, so that stitches of even length will be formed asthe operation is transferred about the sole margin of the shoe.

In accordance With a feature of the present invention, an additional variable speed driving device is provided in the driving connections above referred to which is readily controlled by the operatorflto adjust the rate of 6 drive of the sewing'mechanism and automatic support associated therewith to any desired speed from very slow to the maximum speed of which the machine is capable, without changing in any way the length or quality of the individual stitches formed in'the work.

In the illustrated machine the electric motor 108 is mounted on an open frame or cage 106 which serves as a housing for a manually controlled variable speed transmission unit generally indicated at 152 which, in accordance with the invention, is interposed betweenthe motor 108 and driving connections to the several operating mechanisms of the machine.

The transmission unit 152, as 'best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, is of a type well known in the art, comprising generally an input shaft 154 and an output shaft 156 in vertical alignment therewith, a jack shaft 158, and four pulleys 160, 162, 164 and 166 adapted to receive two V-shaped belts 168, 170 for transmitting power from the input shaft 154 to the jack shaft 158 and thence to the output shaft 156. In order to change the rate of drive through the transmission unit, the side walls of each of the several pulleys are arranged to be relatively adjustable toward and away from one another in order to vary the effective diameter of the pulley about which the V-belt passes.

The adjacent side walls of the pulley 160 on input shaft 154 and pulley 166 on output shaft 156 are keyed to turn with and for sliding movement on the respective shafts and are provided with sleeve hubs 161 and 167 which are held in spaced relation to one another by a spacer element 163 which is adapted to be shifted by a manually operable control lever 172. The adjacent side walls of pulleys 162 and 164 mounted on jack shaft 158 are supported in spaced relation to one another on a sleeve member 165 on jack shaft 158. Movement of the hand lever 172 will have the effect of adjusting the effective diameters of the pulleys 160, 166 which will in turn cause a corresponding adjustment to take place in the position of sleeve 165 and adjacent side walls of pulleys 162, 164 to control the driving ratio of the entire unit.

In the illustrated construction the hand lever 172 takes the form of a handle mounted in a hub block 171 which is pivotally mounted on an arm 173 secured to a rock shaft 175 on which is secured the spacer element 163. A spring pressed ball 177 seated in the arm 173 acts against the hub block 171 to maintain a frictional engagement between an extension 179 of hub block 171 and a cooperating friction surface of an arcuately shaped plate 181 on the machine. With this arrangement the operator is enabled readily to free the handle 172 by a slight lateral movement, and then to shift it vertically to any desired position. The variable speed control illustrated is particularly adapted to permit the operator to vary the rate of drive of the machine at will, and without interrupting the progress of the operation about the sole margin of the shoe.

The input shaft 154 of the transmission unit 152 is connected to be driven at a constant rate from the motor 108 by means of connections comprising a downward extension 174 of the armature shaft of the motor and a coupling 176.

The output shaft 156 of the variable speed transmission unit 152 carries a gear 178 which meshes with a gear carried on a sleeve element together with a second gear182, so that the two gears turn as a unit. I The eccentric drive shaft of the machine indicated at 184 (see Figs. 3 and 7) is mounted directly beneath the gears 180, 182 and is connected to be driven therefrom by means of a planetary transmission. The gear 182 meshes with a gear 186 formed integrally with an external coned clutch member 188 which is mounted between end thrust ball bearings on a vertical shaft 190 and forms the driving element of the main driving clutch of the machine. These parts are driven continuously.

The cooperating driven element of the main driving and stopping clutch comprises an internal coned clutch member 192 keyed to turn with and to slide on the drive shaft. The driven member 192 of the main starting and stopping clutch is arranged through its splined connection with the vertical drive shaft 190 to drive the pattern mechanism of the machine including the pattern cam shaft. T he driven clutch member is also connected to drive the sewing cam shaft of the machine, designated at 196, through the meshing engagement of a spiral gear 198 formed on the outer periphery of the driven clutch mem- -ber 192 with a spiral gear 200 secured to the sewing cam shaft 196.

The pattern shaft of the machine generally designated at 202 is driven from the main starting and stopping clutch through connections, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, which include the clutch member 192 and vertical driving shaft 190, a secondary clutch, a variable speed mechanism and a reduction gear train which may be of ordinary description. The drive shaft 190 is connected at its lower end through a ratchet toothed clutch to drive a stud shaft 204 in axial alignment therewith. The secondary clutch referred to comprises a driven clutch element 206 (see Figs. 3, 4, and 6) keyed to turn with and to slide axially upon the drive shaft 190 for engagement with a cooperating clutch member 208 fast on the shaft 204 to which is secured a driving ratchet 210 forming part of a variable speed driving mechanism for the pattern cam shaft 202. Since this variable speed driving mechanism is well known in the art, no specific description of it is believed necessary. The driven element of the variable speed mechanism comprises a downwardly extending sleeve member 212 which is connected by reduction gearing, generally indicated in Fig. 3, to drive the pattern shaft 202 and includes a gear 214 formed in the lower end of the sleeve 212, and a gear 216 meshing therewith carried on a stud shaft 218. Thence the drive is taken through a gear 220 on the stud shaft 218 which meshes with a gear 222 on a vertical drive shaft 224. Also mounted on the shaft 224 are a number of driving gears 226 which mesh with a gear 228 on the pattern shaft 202 in any of its vertically adjusted positions.

The drive for the one-revolution eccentric which is employed in stopping the machine to perform a number of auxiliary operations, and also the reverse drive for the pattern cam shaft 202, are taken from the lower end of the vertical drive shaft 184 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 6) which, as above noted, is continuously driven from the sleeve unit, including gears 180, 182 acting through a planetary gear train generally indicated at 230 (Fig. 3). The onerevolution eccentric driven from shaft 184 comprises an eccentric cam 232 (see Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive) fitted with an eccentric strap 234 and loosely sleeved to turn on a bushing support 236 for the shaft 184. The eccentric cam 232 is driven from the shaft 184 through an eccentric and reverse driving clutch member 238 which is keyed to the shaft and is axially movable thereon. Upward movement of the eccentric clutch member 238 to engaging position with clutch teeth 240 formed on the under face of the eccentric cam 232 causes the eccentric to be driven from the drive shaft 184. For driving the pattern cam shaft in a reverse direction, the clutch member 238 is arranged to be moved downwardly into engagement with a ratchet-toothed clutch element 244 having formed integrally therewith a pattern shaft reverse driving gear 246 which meshes with the gear 220 forming part of the driving gear train for the pattern cam shaft 202.

The mechanism for controlling the positions of the eccentric and reverse driving clutch member 238 and of the pattern cam shaft secondary clutch 206, except as hereinafter specifically pointed out, is similar to that shown in the aoovementioned prior Patent No. 2,359,662, including a forked clutch shifting lever 243 (see Figs. 4 to 6) having rollers which engage in an annular groove 250 in the .eccentric member 238. A second clutch shifting lever 8 252 similarly carries rollers which engage in an annular groove 254 in the cltuch member 206.

The position of clutch shifting lever 252 is determined for each of a number of positions of clutch shifting lever 248 by means of a forwardly extending arm 256 formed on the sleeve hub of lever 248 and provided at its forward end with a laterally extending roller 260 which engages in a V-shaped notch 262 formed in a downward extension of the secondary clutch shifting lever 252. Movement of the clutch shifting lever 248 in each direction is limited by a connection with a control rock shaft 264 on which the lever 248 is pivotally supported, said connection comprising a cross pin 266 in the shaft which extends upwardly through a slot in the sleeve hub of the lever 248. The control rock shaft 264 and pin 266 are shown in Fig. 4 in an intermediate running position in which the clutch shifting lever 248 is shiftable by the usual automatic controls of the machine from the eccentric drive position shown in Fig. 4 to alternative machine running and machine stop positions within the range of movement allowed by the width of the slot. Figs. 5 and 6 show alternative positions of the control rock shaft 264, the clutch shifting lever 248 in Fig. 5 being moved downwardly to its pattern cam shaft reverse driving position and in Fig. 6 being moved upwardly to a pattern cam shaft stop position in which all of the clutches shown are disengaged. The position of the control rock shaft 264 is controlled by means of a hand lever secured to the end of the shaft 264 at the right side of the machine.

A feature of the invention consists in the novel construction of the manual control for the pattern cam shaft clutches above described, to eliminate any possibility of injury or excessive wear in the mechanism in the event that the manual control is forcibly held in its reverse driving position against a block produced by movement of a sharply angled drop portion of one of the pattern cams against its follower.

The means provided to this end comprises a yielding connection in the form of a flexible manual control lever 268 (see Figs. 1 and 3) attached to the control rock shaft and arranged for a limited movement downwardly from the intermediate running to the reverse position in a guide slot 270 formed in a bracket 272 through which the control lever projects at the right side of the machine. The amount of force which can be applied to engage the tapered ratchet teeth of the reversing clutch 244, as shown in Fig. 5, is thus exactly determined by the strength of the flexible control lever. In the event that a block is encountered while the hand lever 268 is depressed to drive the pattern cam shaft in the reverse direction, the reversing clutch member 238 is permitted to move upwardly against the yielding pressure exerted by the hand lever 268, and the tapered teeth of the reversing clutch member to ride over one another until the hand lever is released by the operator. It will be noted that the upper portion of the slot 270 is offset from the lower portion to permit the latching of the control lever in the intermediate running position of Figs. 3 and 4 against the pressure of a spring 274, which tends to move the control lever 268 upwardly to the intermediate running position, and if the control lever is then moved slightly to the right, still farther upwardly to the pattern cam shaft throw-out position illustrated in Fig. 6.

The shoe supporting jack comprising the toe support 142, heel support and spindle 144 are mounted for turning, tipping and feeding movements on a lever supporting assembly (see Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 9) which includes the forwardly extending arm 148, a pitch support lever 280 on which the arm 148 is mounted to swing vertically, and a roll support lever or frame 282 pivotally mounted at its lower end in the machine base so as to be capable of swinging about a horizontal axis, and upon which the support lever 280 is mounted so as to swing about a substantially vertical axis. These parts are so arranged as to permit free rotational movement of the jack and its supporting spindle 144 on its gimbal joint, and for imparting forward and back or roll tipping movements and longitudinal or pitch tipping movements to the jack to properly position the shoe with relation to the shoe operating devices, including the inseam sewing mechanism, and the inseam trimming knife, as the point of operation is transferred about the shoe.

The several elements of the lever supporting assembly for the jack are controlled and actuated to impart the required turning, tipping and feeding movements to the jack by means of follower connections and pattern actuating cams mounted on the vertically extending pattern shaft 202 which is disposed rearwardly of the jack supporting assembly in the machine (see Figs. 3 and 9). This mechanism, which is in general similar to that illustrated and described in the patent to Alfred R. Morrill, No. 2,529,095, dated November 7, 1950, will be briefly described as follows:

Feeding movements are imparted to the shoe by means of the feed lever 284 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 7) located on the left side of the machine outside of the machine casing, and pivotally supported at its rear end for lateral swinging movements on a cross pin 285 on a lateral rock shaft 286 journaled in a bearing at the rear of the machine. At its forward end the feed lever 284 is connected by means of a curved link 287 with the toe support 14-2 of the jack.

Longitudinal pitch tipping movements are imparted to the jack by means of a pitch cam lever 288 (see Figs. Sand 9) supported adjacent the lower end of pivot shaft 290 and having intermediate its length an offset portion forked to receive a cam roller 292 for engagement with a cooperating pitch cam 294 on the pattern cam shaft. The pitch cam lever is connected by a forwardly extending link 296 to a lateral extension of the support 280, the connection between the link 296 and the support 280 being located substantially on the line of centers of the pivot bearings 298, 300 of the frame 282.

Forward and back or roll tipping movements are imparted to the jack by means of a roll cam lever 302 (see Figs. 3 and 9) supported on the pivot shaft 290 above the pitch cam lever 288, and having a roller 304 which engages with a cooperating roll cam 306 on the pattern cam shaft 202. The roll can lever 302 is connected by a link 308 to an intermediate portion of the frame 282, this connection being located substantially on a vertical line of centers of the bearings 310 for the support 280 in the frame 282. As best shown in Fig. 9, the roll support lever 282 takes the form roughly of an L within which the pitch support lever 280 is mounted to turn. The axis of rotation of the pitch support lever 280 intersects the axis of rotation of the roll support lever 282, and has its lower bearing located substantially beneath the rotational axis of the roll support lever 282.

The mechanism for imparting turning movements to the jack comprises a turn cam lever 314 supported on-the pivot shaft 290 above the roll cam lever 302, and provided with a roller 316 arranged to engage with a cooperating turn cam 318. A forward extension of the turn cam lever 314 has formed thereon a gear segment 320 which meshes with a pinion 322 (see Fig. 9) carried on the upper end of a cone-shaped pulley member 324. R- tational movement is imparted to the jack from the pulley member 324 by means of a cord 330 which is secured at one end to a pulley 332 formed on the lower end of the member 324, and thence passes around an idler pulley 334 on the frame 282, an idler pulley 336 on the support 280, and idler pulley 338 on the jack supporting arm 148, and around a wheel 340 supported to turn with the jack spindle 144. Thence the cord extends rearv by means of a link 346 connected with a second link 348 which is in turn connected to the forward extension of a feed cam lever 350 supported on the pivot shaft 290. A feed cam roller 352 on the lever 350 engages a feed cam 354 on the pattern cam shaft of the machine. Links 346 and 348 are arranged at an acuate angle with relation to one another, being pivotally connected together by a pivot pin 356, and to the free end of a double link 358 which serves as a guiding link for the pivotal connection 356 of the links 346, 348. The link 358 is fulcrumed at 360 on a fulcrum carrying frame lever 362 mounted to turn on'an axis 364. Motion is transmitted from the feed cam lever 350 through links 348 and 346 to the feed lever 284, the extent of this motion being determined in accordance with the direction of movement imparted to the pivotal connection 356 of the guiding link 358. The fulcrum carrying frame lever 362 is held in locked and adjusted position during the operation on the shoe by mechanism comprising a laterally extending rod 366 connected at one end by means of a connecting pin 368 to the fulcrum carrying frame lever 362, and at its other end arranged to be engaged by a locking device indicated in part at 370 in Fig. 7. p

In accordance with the disclosure of the Morrill Patent No. 2,359,662, dated October 3, 1944 referred to, a yieldably acting device is provided for exerting a force on the fulcrum carrying frame lever 362, and on the feed connections generally tending to move the fulcrum carrying frame lever 362 toward one limit of its adjustment, and to keep the feed cam lever 350 in engaegment with its cam.

The means employed, as shown in Fig. 7, comprises a metal strap 396 which is anchored at one end to the feed lever 284, extending laterally around a wheel 398 carried on a fixed pivot, around a pulley 400 carried on a rearward extension 402 of the fulcrum carrying frame lever 362, and thence by additional pulleys to the spring tensioning device generally indicated at 401 in Fig. 9.

In the illustrated automatic machine, mechanism is provided which is adapted to impart an additional increment of feeding movement to the feed lever 284 further to advance the shoe after the several operations associated with the discontinuing of the sewing operation have been performed, but before the shoe has been re leased from its position in engagement with the channel guide, and while the jacked shoe remains under control of the pattern cams to ensure the proper positioning of the shoe with relation to the inseam trimming knife during the relative advancing movement of the shoe to complete the inseam trimming operation.

The added increment of advancing movement is imparted to the feed lever 284 by connections which are actuated by the stop motion eccentric, and which are similar to connections illustrated in the Morrill, No. 2,529,095, dated November 7, 1950, above referred to. These connections include briefly a bell crank lever 403 which is pivotally mounted at 404 on the feed lever 284 and is connected by a ball and socket joint with the feed link 346. The bell crank 403 is connected by link 405 with a second bell crank 406 on the feed lever, which is arranged to be acted upon by a pin 407 vertically movable along the axis of rotation of the feed lever 284. Pin

407 in turn is arranged to be acted upon by a cammed end surface of a link 408, the other end of which is pivotally connected to one arm of the bell crank 409. Another arm of the bell crank 409 is connected by a link 410 an arm 411 on the eccentric actuated rock shaft Rotation of the stop motion eccentric when the machine is stopped, acting through the connections above described, will cause the bell crank 403 to move about its pivot 404 to the position shown in Fig. 8, thus causing the feed lever 284 to be moved laterally to the dot-anddash position of Fig. 7, to complete the operation of trimthing the inseam.

The jacked shoe is forced yieldingly upwardly into 0peratingposition with relation to the shoe sewing mechanism during the operation about the shoe and is then .moved positively downwardly out of engagement therewith in stopping the machine, by mechanism which comprises a vertically extending jack supporting rod 412 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3) connected at its upper end by means of a universal joint with the under side of the jack supporting arm 148, and at its lower end by means of another universal joint to the forwardly extending arm of a bellcrank lever 414 which is loosely supported to turn on a pivot shaft 415. A pair of heavy tension springs 416 connected at one end to the downwardly extending fork arms of the bell-crank 414 and at their other ends to the machine frame, tend to move the lever 414 and supporting rod 412 upwardly to maintain the jacked shoe yieldingly in engagement with the sewing mechanism.

The mechanism for controlling the operation of the jack includes a toggle mechanism which is arranged to be moved to a straightened position in stopping the machine to move the bell-crank lever 414 and jack supporting rod 412 downwardly to move the jacked shoe out of engagement with the sewing devices. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the toggle mechanism comprises pivotally connected toggle arms 418 and 428, the toggle arm 418 being pivotally connected to the bellcrank lever 414, and the toggle arm 420 being secured to a laterally extending rock shaft 422. Abutting stop surfaces formed on the rear side of the toggle arms 418 and 420 are arranged to support the toggle arms in their straightened locking position. A tension spring 424 connected at its forward end to the toggle arm 420 and at its rear end to a point on the bell-crank lever 414, tends to rock the toggle arms rearwardly to break the toggle. The tension of this spring, however, is insufficient to break the toggle until it has been moved from its locked position to a substantially straightened and overbalanced position. This mechanism, including the toggle arms 418 and 420 and spring 424, is so arranged that a downward pressure or jiggling action on the jack applied by the operator when jacking a new shoe through its action to straighten the toggle will serve to break the toggle and allow the shoe to be forced upwardly into position against the sewing mechanism by the springs 416 acting on the bell-crank lever 414.

The toggle is straightened automatically when the machine is stopped in order to move the jacked shoe downwardly away from the sewing mechanism by means of connections which include a vertically extending control rod 426 which at its lower end passes through an aperture in a forwardly extending arm 428 formed integrally with the sleeve hub of the toggle link 420.

A collar 430 supported on the lower end of the toggle control rod 426 by means of a pair of check nuts is rendered operative by upward movement of the toggle control rod to engage with the under side of the arm 428, and to move the toggle to its straightened position. The toggle control rod, as best shown in Fig. 2, is con nected to a third arm 432 of the bell-crank lever 409, another arm of which is connected by the link 41!) with the eccentric stop motion of the machine. Inasmuch as this mechanism is fully described and illustrated in the Morrill Patent No. 2,359,662 above referred to, and forms specifically no part of the present invention, further illustration is believed unnecessary and is omitted herefrom.

In the operation of the automatic mechanism above described for imparting positioning and feeding movements to the jacked shoe, difficulty has been encountered in causing this mechanism to operate properly on shoes fitted upon certain extreme styles of lasts. It has been found, for example, that in the sewing of womens shoes having a hi h instep, an extreme pitch or lengthwise rocking movement of the shoe is required with relation to the operating devices, which has the effect of throwing the swivel mounting for the jack spindle 144 to an extreme position either to the right or to the left of the center line of the machine as viewed generally in Fig. 1. When this condition arises, it has been found that the upward thrust of the jack supporting rod 412 under the pressure of springs 416 loses a major portion of its effectiveness to support the shoe against the channel guide, but tends rather still further to accentuate the tipping movement imparted by the contour of the pitch tipping cam 294, with the result that the shoe tends to be moved away from its correct operating position.

In order to correct this difficulty and to provide a jack supporting actuating structure which is more readily adapted for operation upon a maximum range of lasts, including the most extreme styles in womens shoes which may be encountered, a compensating mechanism is provided which is well adapted to cooperate with the jack supporting levers and supports above described to maintain at all times a substantially evenly applied upward pressure of the jacked shoe against the positioning devices of the machine including the channel guide, which is unaffected by lateral swinging movements of the jack supporting arm 148 from the centralized forwardly extending position shown, for example, in Fig. 9. This mechanism comprises specifically a control rod 440 which has a swivel connection 442 with the jack supporting rod 412 near its upper end and is arranged to slide freely in a bearing provided by a swiveling member 444 supported in a bracket 446 bolted to the right side of the machine frame. The rod 440 provides a support for a pair of centering springs 448, 450 which are disposed at opposite sides of the bracket 446 and tend to maintain the jack supporting arm 148 in the intermediate or centered position shown in Fig. 9.

The spring 448 coiled about rod 440 is arranged to engage at one end against a washer 452 slidably supported on the rod for engagement with the bracket 446 and at its other end to engage a nut 454 fixed to the rod 440. The spring 450 coiled about the rod 440 is arranged at one end to engage against a washer 456 loosely sleeved on the rod for engagement against the right-hand side of the bracket 446, and at its outer end to engage against a washer 458 supported by check nuts 460 adjacent the free right-hand end of the rod 440. Movement of the jack supporting arm 148 in either direction from its centered position by unbalancing the centering springs 448, 450 acts to bias the rod 440 in a direction to turn the supporting arm to its central position. The springs 448 and 450 are of such strength as to exert a return pressure upon the arm 148 which is substantially equal to and increases in the same proportion as the lateral thrust of the jack supporting post 412 and springs 416, as the jack supporting arm 148 and lower end of the jack spindle are moved laterally under the influence of the pitch tipping cam away from their centered position.

In automatic machines of the type here disclosed in which the jacked shoe is presented to the operating devices and in which feeding and positioning movements are imparted to the shoe to transfer the operation about the sole margin of the shoe, individual sets of operating pattern cams are necessarily provided for lasts having different contours. Since these sets of cams are both expensive and cumbersome, an effort has been made to reduce the number of cam sets which must be supplied with each machine, and so far as possible to provide cam sets which are suitable for use with a number of different lasts. In this connection it has been observed that many lasts which are otherwise suitable to be employed with the single set of operating pattern cams show differences of shape through the shank portion of a shoe and particularly variations of transverse curvature which require very careful adjustment of cam contours to a particular last.

Another feature of the present invention consists in a novel arrangement and operation of the shoe supporting and guiding devices of the machine to effect a more chine.

13 eflicient positioning of the'shoe during operation along the shank portions thereof whereby a single set of pattern cams on the pattern cam shaft of the machine may be successfully employed in combination with a substantial number of different shoe lasts for the performance of a satisfactory operation about, the sole margin of the shoe.

This result is obtained in accordance with the invention by maintaining the channel guide in a relatively depressed position with relation to the shoe operating devices so that both the inseam sewing and trimming operations are placed at a higher than normal level during the sewing of the shank portion of the shoe. It has been found that when the stitching is placed high with relation to the sewing rib in sewing along the shank, the needle striking the work from the outside will act as a lasting element to pull in the upper and will cause the parts ofthe shoe to be drawn tightly together and in proper relation to the last to ensure the formation of a tight, even seam irrespective of whether the last. on which the particular shoe is mounted was formed with a shank portion which is flat or curved in cross section. Placing of the stitch in a relatively high position through the sewing rib has the specific advantage that it permits the shoe to be presented at the same angle to the inseam sewing mechanism regardless of the amount of crown on the shank and without danger that the needle will strike the crowned portion of the insole or will be otherwise improperly positioned in relation to the sewing rib.

The mechanism for controlling the position of channel guide, as shown for example in Figs. 3, 15 and 16, comprises a slide 462 which supports the channel guide 138 and is slidably mounted on the sewing head for movement in a generally downward and forwardly inclined direction. Slide 462 is engaged by a lever 464 pivoted intermediate its length on a shaft 466 and connected at its rear end to a link 468. At its lower end, link 4687 is connected to one arm of a bell crank 470, the other arm of which is connected by a rearwardly extending link 472 (see Figs. 3 and 9) with a cam follower lever 474 pivotally supported on the pivot shaft 290. A

follower roller 476 engages with a so-called Baltimore camr478 on the pattern cam shaft 202 of the machine. The contour of the cam 478 is such as to cause the channel guide slide 462 and channel guide 138 to be moved to a relatively depressed position and to maintain this abnormally low position upon starting the machine for the sewing of the first four or five stitches of the seam, whereupon the channel guide is permitted to return gradually to its normal operating position for the operation about the ball and toe portions of the shoe.

In the drawing, Figs. 15 to 19 inclusive are intended to show the operation of the shoe inseam sewing mechanism during the formation of the first stitch, when a shoe having a considerable transverse curvature across the shank is being operated upon, and alternatively when a shoe having a flatcontour across the shank is being operated upon.

In accordance with the present invention the tubular inseam trimming knife 130 is arranged to be driven by means of a separate electric motor and brake unit 480 (see Figs. 1, 2, 10, 11 and 23) and is further connected with the driving and stopping mechanism of the machine to be automatically started and stopped in a predetermined time relation to the operation of the shoe sewing and feeding mechanisms. The tubular knife 130 is mounted on a rotatable shaft 482 supported by a housing 484 adjustably mounted on the sewing head of the ma- Power is transmitted from the motor and breaking unit 480 to drive the knife through connections which include the belt 486 which rides on a pulley 488 on the armature shaft 490 of motor 480 and over a pulley 492 on aforwardly extending shaft 494. The shaft 494 is connected by a link 496 and swivel connections with a short drive shaft 498 supported by the housing 484 at right angles to the knife supporting shaft 482. Meshing the I 14 beveled gears 500 and 502 carried respectively by the drive shaft 498 and cutter supporting shaft 482 connect the shaft 496 to drive the cutter.

Further in accordance with the invention, control de vices are provided wihich act to start the operation of the inseam trimming operation only after the first two stitches of the seam have been formed, and which operate to stop the operation of the knife after the sewing mechanism has been stopped and upon completion of a final increment of feeding movement in which the knife is operative to trim that portion of the inseam held together by the last two stitches of the seam.

The trimming cutter is started upon completion of the first two stitches of the seam by means of a microswitch 504 (see Figs. 11 and 23) which is actuated by an upwardly extending arm 503 on a thread tension release rock shaft 505 forming part of the tension release mechanism hereinafter more fully to be described, which is employed to prevent the reestablishing of the tension on the thread until after the completion of the first two stitches of the seam. The microswitch 504 is again moved to its off position when the thread tension is released in stopping the sewing mechanism. The motor brake unit 480 is de-energized to stop the inseam trimming cutter and to support the cutter against rotation in its stopped position by means of a second microswitch 506 which is supported adjacent to the hub of the feed lever 284 of the machine and is adapted to be controlled by an actuator plate 508 adjustably secured to the sleeve hub of the feed lever 284 (see Figs. 7 and 9). The actuator plate 508 is provided. with a relatively extended contact surface which rides onto the contact point 510 of the microswitch 506 shortly after the machine has been put in operationand remains in contact therewith until the feed lever 284 has reached its position of maximum throw to the left upon completion of the increment of feed added thereto by the extra movement of the jack to finish trimming the inseam. The microswitch 506 is'thereafter switched to its oif position to stop the trimming cutter when the actuator plate 508 rides off the contact point 510 of switch 506 during the return movement of the jack to its starting position.

The electrical control system of the machine, including the microswitches above referred to for controlling the operation of the trimmer motor, is full illustrated in an electrical diagram, Fig. 23, and will be briefly de- 'scribed in connection therewith. The power units of the machine include the main driving motor 108 above referred to, the trimming cutter motor 480, a blower motor 520, and a grinder motor 522. The grinder motor 522 is part of a unit mounted on the front of the machine for sharpening the inseam trimming knife 130 and is arranged to drive a small grinding wheel. The blower motor 520 forms part of the chip exhaust unit which includes aichip collector and exhaust conduit, generally indicated at 526 in Figs. 1, l0 and 15, which is adapted to collect and toremove chips taken off by the rotary inseam trimming knife. The blower and grinding units forming spe' cifically no part of the present invention, will not be further described.

As shown in Fig. 23, power is supplied by means of a "connected through leads 540 and 542 to start and stop ithe trimmer motor. 'in parallel with the microswitch 504 across the terminals '536 and 538 through leads 544 and 546, During the The microswitch 586 is connected '15 normal operation of the machine when the trimmer motor is operated automatically the manual control switch 539 is normally closed so that trimmer motor 480 will operate under the control of the micro-switches 504 and 506, referred to.

As also shown in Fig. 23, the trimming cutter motor 480 forms part of a motor brake unit which includes a brake solenoid 548 which is connected across two of the leads to the trimming cutter motor 480 and is adapted to be energized when the motor is operating to release the brake and is de-energized when the motor is stopped to permit the setting of the brake. Inasmuch as brake units of this type are well known in the art and inasmuch as the operation thereof is indicated with considerable clarity .by the digrammatic Fig. 23, further illustration thereof is believed unnecessary. The lead 542 connects with the main line wire L-1 through wires 542' and 542". The lead 540 connects with the actuating solenoid 549 of a trimmer motor relay switch having normally opened contacts 550, 550 and 550" which are shifted to closed position when the relay 549 is energized. The relay 549 is connected at its other side through wires including leads 549' and 549" with the main line wire L-2.

It will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 23 that the closing of the circuit through microswitch 504 after two stitches have been formed will start the trimming cutter motor 480. The actuation of micro-switch 504, after two stitches have been formed in the work, and assuming that the manual control switch 539 is in its closed position, will close the circuit through lead 540 to the trimmer motor starting switch relay 549 causing contacts 550, 550' and 550 to close thus starting the trimmer motor 480. Before the switch 504 again opens at the completion of the sewing operation, microswitch 506 will have been closed, forming a parallel holding circuit to maintain the trimming cutter motor in operation during the further advancing movement of the jacked shoe to finish trimming the inseam. The opening of microswitch 506, which takes place during the return movement of the jack to its starting position, will now completely break the circuit between terminals 536, 538, causing the trimmer motor starting switch relay 549 to be deenergized so that contacts 550, 550 and 550" are permitted to open and thus causing the trimming cutter motor 480 to stop and the motor brake solenoid 548 to be released to set the brake.

The mechanisms for supporting and actuating the sewing instrumentalities of the illustrated machine, while in general similar to corresponding pea-ts illustrated in the Morrill Patent No. 2,529,095, dated November 7, 1950 above referred to, will be briefly described as follows in connection with Figs. and of the drawings.

The curved hook needle 120 together with its supporting segment 554 is carried on an oscillatory feed lever 556 having back and forth movement in the line of feed. The needle feed lever is formed with a sleeve hub which is mounted on a vertical pivot shaft 558 and a rearwardly extending cam lever arm 560 which carries a follower roller 562 for engagement with a peripheral feed cam track in a cam disk on the sewing cam shaft of the machine. The needle 120 is mounted in a segmental support 564 and is further supported against lateral strains by means of a needle guide 566. Oscillatory movements are imparted to the needle segment 554 to cause the needle to pierce and to draw thread through the work by means of connections comprising a link 568 connected at one end to the segment 554 and at its other end to a lever 570 freely mounted to rotate on an axis provided by a transversely extending shaft 572. The lever 570 is connected by a link 574 to a needle cam actuated lever 575 (Fig. 15).

The looper 122 is supported on a rock shaft 576 to turn on a small radius about an axis inclined forwardly from the vertical and substantially in line with the end of the needle when in the needle threading position. The

looper rock shaft 576 is supported for'rotational movement in a bore in a forwardly extending bracket 578 carried on the nose of the sewing heat. The rock shaft 576 is carried by and is fixedly secured within a sleeve shaft 577 mounted to turn on ball hearings in said bore. A clamping nut 580 .is provided for fastening together the sleeve shaft 577 and rock shaft 576. The sleeve shaft 577 is provided adjacent its lower end with a worm gear 582 which meshes with a worm 584 on a rearwardly extending driving sleeve 586 externally supported in a bearing formed on the bracket 578.

A tapered pinion 588 formed on the rearward end of the driving sleeve 586 meshes with a correspondingly tapered gear segment 590 on one arm of the bell crank lever 592 supported to turn on the sleeve hub of the needle actuating lever 570. An upwardly extending arm of the bell crank 592 is connected by a link 594 with one arm of a cam actuated lever 596.

The thread finger 124 is secured to the forward end of a drive shaft 598 which is mounted within the sleeve drive shaft 536. At its rear end the shaft 598 is formed with a beveled gear segment 600 meshing with a beveled gear segment 602 which constitutes one arm of a bell crank 603 mounted to turn on the sleeve hub of the needle actuating lever 570. The other arm of the bell crank 603 is connected by a link 604 with a cam actuated lever indicated at 606.

The thread handling devices of the machine include additionally a thread take-up and a thread tensioning device. The thread take-up comprises a take-up lever 610 (see Fig. 15) which is supported intermediate its length to turn on a pivot 612. At its forward end lever 610 carries a take-up roller 614, and at its rear end is provided with a cam follower roller 616.

The thread, drawn from a suitable source of supply, passes around a tension wheel 618 of conventional design, under a roller 620, over take-up roller 614, around rollers 622 and 624, and thence downwardly to the looper 122.

In the illustrated machine, the thread is arranged to pass downwardly through a central bore in the looper shaft 576 so that the thread is drawn through the work by the take-up roller 614 and idler pulleys 622 and 624 during the take-up in a direction which forms a substantially straight-line extension of the perforation through the work. In the illustrated machine, this arrangement for guiding the thread has the further advantage that the thread passing through the bore in the looper shaft 576 is protected from the air stream created by the chip exhaust blower until it reaches a point close to the looper eye.

The thread tension and tension release mechanism of the machine is in general similar, except as hereinafter described, to the tension release mechanism illustrated in the US, Patent to Cole 2,465,356 dated March 29, 1949,

V for improvements in Tension Devices for Thread Handling Machines, but is shown and will be briefly described with reference to Figs. 10, ll, 12, 13 and 15 of the drawings in order to indicate the connection of the present invention therewith, as follows:

The tension wheel 618 is secured to a shaft 628 mounted to turn in a bearing 630 and having formed thereon a brake hub 632, A coil spring 634 supported on the brake hub 632 and connected at one end into a holder 636 and at its other end supported on a rearwardly extending tension release arm 638 (see Fig. 13) pivoted on the tension Wheel shaft 628, is adapted for frictional engagement with the brake hub 632 to apply a brake tension to the thread. The hold-er 636 is adjustably mounted on a lever support 637, which is supported coaxially with the take-up lever 610 and is adjustably secured by means of a pin-anchslot connection to turn therewith. The adjustment of lever support 637 with relation to the take-up lever 610 will effect an adjustment of the tension exerted by the brake spring 634. Adjustment in the position of 

